Edmonton Oilers Headlines: Hendricks Talks Byfuglien, Klefbom Not Hurt
The Edmonton Oilers did not impress by any means Friday as they dropped a 5-1 decision to the Winnipeg Jets. They appeared lost and, as the Edmonton Sun perfectly put it, “sluggish,” allowing four power-play goals on five attempts.
One of the biggest concerns following Friday’s loss was Oscar Klefbom’s status. Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien checked Klefbom hard and appeared to elbow him. The Swedish blueliner didn’t return for the third period. Matt Hendricks, who went after Byfuglien following the play, opened up about the hit.
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“Byfuglien’s a big body and he plays the right way… I like that brand of hockey, but I didn’t like how that play happened,” Hendricks said of the Klefbom elbow.
The two tough guys see a lot of each other, as both of them are from Minnesota, but Hendricks isn’t too close to him. They dropped the gloves last season in Edmonton and had a scrum in the corner following the hit Friday.
Head Coach Todd McLellan said post-game that no Oilers were injured, meaning that Klefbom’s absence from the third period was likely just a precaution.
Overall, Friday’s game was far from impressive. Not only did the Oilers struggle on the penalty kill, but many players looked out of it. Thankfully, it’s only preseason, but McLellan sees the performance of some players as a red flag. With the season less than two weeks away, he hasn’t been impressed by the play of some veterans.
“That’s why we have training camp… the games give us more evidence to use but some of the veterans aren’t doing it either,” McLellan said.
Later, he mentioned w some players are “taking a step off the plank,” and hinted at the play of veterans and prospects. Mark Letestu is surely one of them and had a horrible game against the Jets Friday.
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